As dusk settled over the 182-year-old former Missouri State Penitentiary, two vintage-style lights located at the main entrance shone through the darkness from the top of stone columns Monday evening.
Meyer Electric Inc. reinstalled the cast-iron lights last week after the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau approved the preservation project in January.
When prisoners were moved to the Jefferson City Correctional Center in 2004, employees planned to use two MSP light fixtures at the new facility, but the lights were not used and instead placed in storage.
Meyer Electric Inc. put LED bulbs in the lights, and St. Louis Antique Lighting Company restored the light fixtures.
The estimated cost of the entire project is $60,000, CVB Communications/Film Manager Brittney Mormann said. Revenue from the Missouri State Penitentiary tours will pay for the project, she added.
The CVB decided to reinstall the light fixtures to "enhance the character of the Missouri State Penitentiary," Mormann said.
"Visitors touring the facility try to visualize what MSP was like during its glory days - the CVB is doing our best to further that vision and provide more historical context," she said.